Ask a Badass: Babsi Zangerl

Hi Babsi,

I'm wondering if you go through periods of burnout, and what you do to work through those times. In my group of climbing friends, it seems like we all go through emotional cycles that affect our enthusiasm. Sometimes, we feel stoked about all the climbs/training/prep/etc, and sometimes we're tired of feeling obligated to be out climbing all the time, wondering why we even prepare for an objective that doesn't sound fun anymore. Especially as a professional climber, how do you deal when your stoke disappears?

Thanks!

E

Babsi, thanks for doing this.

When you were a beginner, what did your training routine look like, and how has it changed as you progressed from beginner to intermediate to advanced to elite climber?

Can you comment on the differing cultures and governmental support for climbing in Austria, and Europe generally, with the US.  It seems like there is more support and structure for climbing in Europe, both from the government and civil society, than there is in the U.S., where climbing seems to often be a more individualistic pursuit.  How does Austrian and European social democracy impact climbing.  How could U.S. climbing benefit from looking to Austria and Europe?

Thanks.

Hey Babsi, 

I had a look at the short film from your ascent of Zodiac. Well done! 

I was wondering how much effort it was to remove all the gear from a pitch between each attempt? 

Would you still feel like you would have had done a true ascent with preplaced gear?

Have a nice one!

Jerome

In thinking back on your climbing career, what's helped you through any plateaus you've found yourself in? Be it getting stuck at a grade, a fear plateu, monetary, or whatever else. What gets you unstuck when you're feeling stuck?

Yo Babsi,

What got you into rock climbing? 

Hey Babsi,  I really just wanted to say hi so I can tell all my friends that we had a conversation!  Congrats on zodiac too!!

Hi Babsi, do you have any stories of close calls/sketchyness you've experienced (or someone close to you) while climbing that made you seriously reevaluate how you assess risk? If so, what did you learn from the event? Thanks! 

Hi Babsy, 

What're your go to climbing phrases? 

Thanks, 

Nathan

Hi Babsi,

If someone can climb the same grades as the free routes on el cap, but they are doing it on routes with a very different style(single pitch southern sandstone), what kind of training would be best for getting the body ready for the unique style of free climbing that el cap provides? Is there a specific way that you trained for it? 

Thank you, 

Luc

What makes you badass?

ViperScale wrote:

What makes you badass?

Best question yet !!!

Can you explain the e strategy and point out critical choices to make the free ascent of zodiac?

Describe what the movement of climbing means to you

Why are you so obsessed with inanimate objects? (trying to answer this one for myself as well)

Babsi,

When climbing long, difficult free routes such as Zodiac, what is your strategy for keeping you and your partner laughing and having fun?

I first heard of you in the BD post on shoulder maintenance here. I found this advice to be very helpful, especially since I am early forties, and trying to avoid injury while getting better at climbing. Any suggestions on how to train hard and avoid injury, or for non-climbing exercises that you do? -Brian

Dear Babsi,

     Most training information and books I've seen are oriented toward sport-climbing or bouldering, and more generally face-climbing. I know that traditional routes like Yosemite's walls do not exclude face-climbing, but a large part of these routes is facing various sizes of cracks, liebacking, slab climbing, etc.

What training advice do you have for traditional climbers?

Also, is the strategy of relying on the idea of "cross-over" a worthwhile pursuit? The idea being: by training and improving in sport-climbing, that its fitness can cross-over to trad climbing, with the notion that sport-climbing fitness can be obtained more readily (efficiently & quickly because of gyms and perhaps a local crag) due to it being more accessible for some people. Basically, that a goal of climbing something like The Zodiac can be achieved faster by building fitness via sport-climbing and transitioning that fitness into trad climbing than by just continually climbing trad routes and trying to improve that way.

Best regards, Aaron

Shannon Davis wrote:

Hi All,

In partnership with Black Diamond, we'll be bringing a few of their athletes over to "hang out" in our forum and answer your questions this fall. First up is Babsi Zangerl, an Austrian climber and total bone crusher who recently freed the Zodiac (5.13c) on El Cap with partner Jacopo Larcher. 

Hi Babsi!

I'm curious what you think a "bone crusher" is and if that is an appropriate description of who you are?

Way to go on Zodiac!